Dexcom Is Putting Out There

I have had a couple of meetings with Springfield’s Dexcom rep this week and I’m getting really excited about what they have planned for Springfield.

I have been Dexcomin’g it for approximately 15 weeks now.  My hemoglobin A1c dropped from a 9.4% to a 6.8% and shocked not only me, but my family and friends too.  I didn’t realize how bad I really had felt, blood sugar-wise. I have now become a firm believer that every diabetic should be on a continuous glucose monitor, they just don’t know it yet.  And most of the time, the medical staff doesn’t know it yet, either.  But that whole thought is a rabbit I will chase in another blog post.

The continuous glucose monitor is a new technology that has been on the market for a couple of years now.  There are other continuous glucose monitors (cgms) out there, however I personally prefer the Dexcom Seven Plus.  The reason being is that it is smaller and easier to wear than some other companies.  It’s about the size of two quarters laying side by side and is really flat.  Plus you don’t have to tape it down like some other cgm’s.  It works out nicely for me.

And Dexcom happens to be a company that is one of the front runners in this technology.  It works together with my insulin pump to manage my type 1 diabetes.  It is a sensor that is inserted into my skin (no, there is not a needle in me the whole time) and sticks to an area of my body that has some “pinch-a-ble” real estate.  Believe me, I have plenty of “pinch-a-ble” real estate and it’s not hard to find a spot, but I typically like to wear it on the back of my arm or on my lower back.

The sensor stays in place on my body for 7 days, reading the sugar levels of my interstitial fluid.  The great thing about the Dexcom is that it shows me the trends of which direction my blood sugar is going.  If it is on the rise, I can then bolus a small amount of insulin from my Omnipod insulin pump to cover the rising level.  It gives you a reading approximately every 5 minutes of where your blood sugar is, therefore checking it over 250 times per day.

You can set up your options on the Dexcom to alert you if you go above or below a certain number.  I set my high limit at 240 and my low limit at 80.  That way, when I receive a reading above or below those numbers, the Dex alerts me with a vibration notification first, then a beep (if I ignore it).  The object of the game is to stay between those lines of 80 and 240 (for me).  For some reason, I still find fascination in posting pictures of the Dexcom receiver when I have solid readings between the lines for several hours on end.  I then e-mail these pictures to my Mom to prove to her that I am taking care of myself.  But, again, I’m off on a tangent.

But back to what is being planned for Dexcom and Springfield.  I am teaming up with the Dexcom rep to help plan out a big event to put on in Springfield this fall.  It will be an awareness, informational and sign-you-up event.  And they plan to treat their consumers well (a.k.a. wine you and dine you most likely).  I don’t have all of the details, I just know that they will be bringing in patients, like me, to tell our story.  There will be healthcare and medical staff, and other families and patients that are interested in the product and just want to get to know more about it.  I don’t have all the specifics, but I will let you know as they get close.  Just know that Dexcom is putting it out there, and if you are affected by diabetes…you should take a look.

*Update 4-11-2010: Our regional Dexcom reps will be putting together an informational meeting/gathering in Springfield this summer.  I will post the details as soon as I know something.  I know that they also plan to update everyone on their involvement with the Artificial Pancreas Project (APP) which is sponsored by JDRF.

Tagged as: a1c, blood sugar, cgms, continuous, continuous glucose monitor, dexcom, diabetes, insulin pump, mo, seven plus, springfield, type 1